REHABilitation
by Sanguinary Tide
Summary: After long years of searching, Verde has finally found his long lost daughter. Knowing he, himself is in no shape to fetch her, he asks the right hand of Vongola Decimo to retrieve her. Hayato is a rather accomplished man, grabbing one woman shouldn't be a problem for him, so he readily agrees...however, upon meeting the woman, herself...he begins to question his unfortunate luck.


**Foreword:** Yes! FINALLY! "SUMMER TEASE" installment numero cinco! Gokudera's story is one I've been looking forward to telling for quite some time now. ^^ He was actually the first additional idea to occur to me after Tiger Bread, so I've put quite a lot of time and enthusiasm into this story. This one is quite the doozy and features a bit of all genres, so I hope you all enjoy. ^^

**Disclaimer: **If for any reason at all that you disagree with the fact that I DO NOT own Katekyo Hitman REBORN! you can go blow yourself up with a couple of excess sticks of dynamite.

**REHABilitation**

_**Prologue: Lost & Found**_

_(March 2023)_

She was a force of nature, that one; a hurricane, a whirlwind of furious emotions. She could make a man quiver with a look, boil his blood with the slightest of motions. Like a deadly storm, she'd strike without warning, her approach all but unnoticed.

It was all Luis could do to keep hidden the smirk on his face as her footsteps, each emphasized by the click clacking of stilettos against concrete, suddenly became silent, muffled by the thickly carpeted floor. He was almost worried she'd make him beg, but he was relieved as the bottle of vodka clenched loosely in her grasp was relinquished to table as her hands soon busied themselves with peeling off the second skin that was her black dress. He watched, the constriction of his own clothing becoming increasingly painful, as the cloth slid sinfully away from golden skin, revealing curves that before had only teased them with their appearance. He grunted, pleased when she climbed into his lap.

Savannah. She was an unusual beauty, exotic, even for their small slice of Brasil. She was more than pretty enough with almond shaped eyes that contained green irises that always smoldered with some unknown perception. Her dark curls, tickled at his bared flesh as she nibbled at his neck, but Luis was only barely aware of it. His hands slithered over her form, kneading at her lace covered breasts and she gave an appropriate mewl in response. Encouraged, he dragged his hands down and groped at her ass, grinding her into his lap and he could only lament the existence of the two layers of cloth that separated them. She laughed, a husky whisper across his skin.

"Impatient, Luis?"

"Don't tease me, woman."

She smirked and leaned her torso away from him. "Oh?" A roll of her hips had him hissing through his teeth as she rode over him.

Luis growled, grabbing at her hips to steady her, "I said don't, Savannah."

The smirk never left her lips, but something darkened her gaze, "Don't what?"

"Don't be a tease," he growled his fingers clutching her hips tight enough to bruise.

"…Alright then," She reached for the vodka without glancing back, raising it to her lips to take a swig, "….answer one question."

He scowled, but he hardly cared when she was so close to his reach, "What is it?"

She smiled then and the meaning behind it was everything and nothing. Leaning in to press her lips to his ear, she whispered, "Did you think I wouldn't notice?" His confusion was quickly erased as he felt her nails sharpened edge press at his collarbone…more specifically at a darkened mark left by a pair of lips. "I know my own work, Luis."

He swallowed thickly and he was suddenly rigid as his muscles tensed, "Sava—"

She silenced him with a finger to his lips, "Shhh….it's okay. I forgive you."

Luis sighed as he relaxed bonelessly into the dilapidated couch.

"…of course," his eyes flickered up to hers quickly as she continued, "I can't forget."

The green eyed gaze that he knew so well was suddenly unfamiliar. It wasn't passion or even lust that heated her gaze.

"And I do _so_ want to forget, Luis….but I can't do that so long as I have to look at you," She drank deeply from the bottle.

And then it clicked into place as he recognized the look in her eyes: _excitement. _He failed to move out of the way before the mouthful of alcohol was spat onto him. He snarled as he shoved her away from him. She didn't even stumble as she back peddled across the small living space with a laugh.

"You're drunk, bitch. You've been out drinkin' the whole night again!"

She laughed and he tried to ignore the clarity of it, "How nice of you to notice…. I have_ indeed_ been drinking," She cocked her head at him and the cheerful look fell from her face with such a quickness he froze, "but I'm not drunk."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," She stared at him with a patronizing gaze, "I told you…I want to forget….forget that I wasted my time on you…and I _can't_ do that so long as I have to look at _you._"

A chill found its way down his spine as he met her stare. Her face might have been a blank slate, but her eyes…she was going to kill him…he knew it.

"You've become an eyesore for me Luis—a painful reminder…one, which I intend to remedy." She reached for a silver shape on the table.  
He lunged for her, "You crazy bit—" His scream silenced his own speech as he was engulfed in flames, courtesy of the zippo lighter she'd tossed at him.

Luis was anything but still in his final moments and thrashed about his small apartment as he raced increasingly closer to his last breath. And it was with a practiced ease—_an experienced detachment_—that the woman sidestepped his blazing body to shimmy her clothing back on. She paused only to light a cigarette on his still cooking carcass. A few moments later and her stiletto heels clacking against the asphalt were suddenly eclipsed by the explosion that rocked the three story complex, but she didn't seem to care as she walked further into the night.

…At the time, she hadn't been concerned with her actions and in fact…was rather certain she'd do it again without hesitation…. And yet, when she woke up the next morning with a dry mouth, a nauseous stomach and a screaming headache, she cursed her reckless impulsivity. …_especially seeing as she was awoken by the police hauling her unconscious body from the street._ She'd blacked out again, but the next words directed at her person quickly brought her back to the world of the wakened, "You're under arrest for suspicion of arson and the murder of Luis Delgado."

…._shit._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_~17 hours later, Unknown Location~_

He was dragged away from a deep and dreamless slumber by the most incessant noise and for a moment he briefly wondered why he had ever allowed for such a ceaseless alarm_. …alarm…_ His eyes flew open. He leapt from his seat and groaned as he immediately felt the consequences of dozing off in his chair. Still, he ignored the aches, pains, and dull swollen throbs in his joints as he hurried to his main computer. A click of a key and an automated voice echoed in the dark space, "Finger print match found. Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil."

He stared in silence. A long moment passed before he hesitantly asked, his voice shaking, "What's the positive percentage of the match?"

"Match is 98.7% positive."

He let out a breath and slouched over the keys. "Show me."

And when the image flickered on screen containing a face that was so different from what he expected, but so hauntingly familiar reflected on the lenses of his glasses, he knew. He knew it was her. After ten long years of searching, a decade of nothing, he'd finally found her. Verde had found her.

She was so close now…and yet still so far away. He scowled, she didn't know him and in his current state, even despite aging the last ten years, there was no way for him to approach her in a manner that would be perceived as sane. He brooded on the subject for the duration of the night before a solution presented itself to him.

He didn't hesitate to remove the phone from his pocket and was in fact more annoyed with himself that he didn't think of it before. He needn't have worried about retrieving her… he didn't have to be the one to go get her….he did, after all, have a favor to call in.

The phone rang three times before a gruff voice answered, "What is it?"

Verde smiled in the dark room, the only contrast being the pale glow of the computer and it's light being reflected from his lenses, "Ah….Gokudera Hayato," he pressed on when he was answered with agitated silence, "I believe you owe me…"

* * *

**Afterword:** O.O …I have never written a scene like the one this opened with before….I can only hope I did okay…and if I didn't or could do it better…PLEASE …tell me. O.O …cuz I'll need to get better in the near future. . Anyway…I hope you all liked and if not, were at least mildly intrigued by this opening!

See you next post!

_**-S.T.**_


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